UPDATE 1-South Africa to name two more provinces as drought disaster areas

JOHANNESBURG Nov 4 (Reuters) - South Africa's drought-hit
northern Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces will be declared
disaster areas for agriculture this week or next, an official
said on Wednesday, a development that will make them eligible
for emergency assistance from the National Treasury.

Ben Kgakatsi, director of risk management in the department
of agriculture, also told Reuters that the sugar-growing
province of KwaZulu-Natal would soon be declared a disaster area
for agriculture. The province has already been declared as such
for general water supplies.

"The assessments are being carried out and then they will
submit their applications for disaster declarations to their
premiers," he said.

The maize-growing Free State and North West provinces have
already been designated disaster areas for agriculture as a
blistering drought sucks moisture from the soil and dam levels
fall, delaying the planting of crops for the crucial southern
hemisphere summer season.

Mpumalanga has a diverse agricultural base, with maize grown
in its west and big sugar farms in the sub-tropical east of the
province. It is also the main source of coal production in South
Africa, an industry that heavily relies on water.

Limpopo is the heart of South Africa's game ranching
industry but also accounts for a third of the citrus crop in the
world's second-biggest exporter of the fruits. Citrus farmers in
the province already face water restrictions.

South African cattle, sheep and goat farmers were urged by
the government on Tuesday to cut the size of their herds as
drought conditions scorch grazing land.

The South African Weather Service said last week that an El
Nino weather system, which was already forecast to bring drought
conditions for much of the summer, now looks like it will extend
into autumn next year.
(Reporting by Ed Stoddard; Editing by James Macharia)